Device for belt-fed guns



Feb. 20, 1962 F. G, TILLANDER 3,021,761

DEVICE FOR BELT-FED GUNS Filed Jan. 20, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 BY HGM@ M rromevs Feb. 20, 1962 F. G. TILLANDER 3,021,761

DEvIcEFoRBELTfFED GUNS Filed Jan. 20, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Fol/(E GU57I/ TML/INDE@ A Tron/vers 3,021,761 f DEVICE FR BELT-FED GUNS Follie Gustav Tillander, Before, Sweden, assigner to Aktieboiaget Bofors, Bofors, Sweden, a corporation of Sweden Filed Jan. 20, 1960, Ser. No. 3,606 Claims priority, application Sweden Ian. 31, 1959 Claims. (Cl. 89-33) This invention relates to an ammunition guide for beltfed elevating guns in which the rounds are fed from a stationary magazine part vthrough a channel in a trunnion carried upon an elevating part of the gun. The gun itself should be visualized as being of conventional design having a gun barrel which can bef'elevated or depressed by means of trunnions journalled in a gun mountl and is fed from a magazine.

During the firing of such elevating type gun, the ammunition belt tends to twist according to thepivotal movements of'ithe elevating mass in reference to the stationary parts of the gun, thus making it necessary to guide the belt for proper feeding into the breech of the gun barrel. Various devices have been'proposed for this purpose, such as employing a plurality of pins arranged in parallel with each other in two rows spaced apart a distance corresponding to the diameter of the rounds. In such an arrangement, the pins have been rotatably fastened by their ends to the elevating mass of the gun, as well as to the magazine, thus resulting in a number of moving parts of complicated design. It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an ammunition guide for elevating type guns which is extremely simple in construction, efficient in operation, and which will overcome the aforementioned didicuties.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an ammunition guide for elevating guns of the type described in which a trunnion integral with the elevated mass of the gun is provided with a passageway through which an ammunition belt is fed and which orientates the ammunition carried thereby into the direction for ramming into the breech of the gun in any position of the elevational mass of the gun relative to the stationary magazine thereof.

n In accordance with the present invention, a trunnion carried by the elevating mass of the gun is provided with a channel or passageway extending longitudinally therethrough that is defined by walls formed by generatrices having a direction approximately parallel with the elevation axis, which generatrices on the side of the trunnion directed toward the elevating mass of the gun follow an yoblong groove, which passageway allows the vpassage of rounds therethrough only when the longitudinal axes of such rounds are parallel with the ramming direction of the gun. The generatrices on the external side of the trunnion adjacent to the stationary magazine of the gun following a recess have the general form of two diametricallyY oppositely disposed ninety degree arc segments which will accept rounds of ammunition therein in any angular direction with respect to the ramming direction of the gun for guided movement toward the oblong opening adjacent to the breech of the firearm.

All of the foregoing and still further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from a study of the' following specification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein: Y

FIG. l is a perspective view, with parts broken away, of a trunnion of an elevating type gun having an ammunition guide made in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a rightend elevational view of the trunnion i' uit une shown in FIG. 1, with the elevating mass of the gun in one elevational position;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2, with the elevating mass of the gun in another elevational position; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view, partially cut away, to show ammunition fed from a magazine to the trunnion shown in FIG. l.

Referring now to the drawing, an elevating gun embodying an ammunition guide made in accordance with the present invention is shown to include a breech casing 1 having a trunnion 2 rotatably supported upon a stationary mount 3 which also supports an ammunition magazine (not shown) thereupon. Thus, the breech casing 1 forms part of the elevating mass'of the gun and is rotatable about a substantially horizontal axis with respect to the stationary mount 3, from which ammunition fromV the magazine is fed to the breech casing. l lThe trunnion 2 has one end adjacent to the elevating mass of the firearm and an opposite end adjacent to the stationary mount. The trunnion is formed with a passageway extending longitudinally through the opposite ends thereof. This passageway, at its end close to the trunnion defines an oblong opening 4 which has a longitudinal axis extending parallel to Vthe ramming direction of the gun barrel, vsuch opening restricting the passage of ammunition therethrough to belts of rounds, the longitudinal axes of which are substantially parallel to the ramming direction for the gun barrel. kThe passageway through the trunnion widens from the oblong opening 4 adjacent to the one end of the trunnion toward the opposite end thereof into a recess forming two diametrically oppositely disposed ninety degree arc segments. These segmental openings are defined by the adjacent sides 5, 6. 7, S, respectively, of a pair of diametrically oppositely disposed blocks 9, 10.

It will be noted that the angles between the respective sides 5, 7; 6, S of the blocks 9, 10 increase gradually from approximately ninety degree at the magazine end of the trunnion to adjacent to the breech end of the trunnion, at which point they define the parallel sides of the oblong opening 4. Thus, regardless of the initial position of the ammunition as it is drawn into the outer end of the trunnion, the cooperating sides S, 6; 7, 8 of the blocks defining the passageway at the opposite outer end of the trunnion, will orientate each round of ammunition as it is moved toward the inner one end of the trunnion and allowed to pass into the breech casing 1 through the oblong opening 4 that is in alignment with the ramming direction for the gun barrel.

With reference now to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 of the drawing, it will be recognized that while the position of the ammunition carried by the belt into the outer end of the trunnion is substantially the same, whether the gun barrel is in the horizontal firing position shown in FIG. 2 or in the vertical firing position shown in FIG. 3, or any position intermediate thereof, each such round of ammunition 13 will be properly orientated into the ramming direction for the gun barrel as it is passed through the oblong opening 4 adjacent to the inner one end of the trunnion. In any firing position of the gun barrel between zero degree and forty-five degrees relative to the horizontal, one par of surfaces 5, 8 will orientate the round 13 into the ramming direction of the rearm, whereas in firing positions of the gun barrel between forty-five and ninety degrees with respect to the horizontal, the other guide surfaces 6, 7 will guide the ammunition into the proper position, each such situation being illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawing, respectively.

While this invention has been described with particular reference to the construction shown in the drawing,

it is to be understood that such is not to be construed as imparting limitations upon theinvention, which is best defined by the claims appended hereto.

Having thus described my invention,l claim as new and desiretoisecure by Letters Patent:

1. In a belt-fed elevating gun havingfastationary maga-4 zineV and an elevating mass including a breech, an arnrnunition guide comprisingV a trunnion secured to said.A

reech for rotation about a substantial` horizontal elevational axis` relative to said stationary magazine, said trunnion having one end adjacent to said breech.` and another` end adjacent toy said: stationary magazine and including a passageway extending longitudinally through said trunnion adaptedf to receive ammunition fed from said magazine and meansdisposed: in said passageway and' comprising lcooperating opposing surfaces defining a passageway having a wide entry opening at the end` of the trunnion adjacent the magazine and narrowing toward the endofthe passagewayk at the breech side, said passage yway` being adaptedA to receive ammunition in various angular positionswith referencexto the' passageway entry and to orient ammunition in the passageway in correspondencewith the ramming direction` of the breech.

2. In arbeit-fed elevating gun asset forth in claim 1,

wherein said passageway at said one end of saidI trunnionv adjacent to saidy breech defines an oblong opening haw direction for said breech.

3. In a belt-fed, elevating gun asset forth in claim 2, wherein said passageway at the end of saidtrunnion adjacent to said stationary magazine is flared outwardly,r

and said outwardly iiared portion of said passageway isv gradually conformed to the shape of said oblong opening inwardly of said trunnion from said opposite end thereof, whereby ammunition entering said flared portion of said passageway out of parallelism with the ramrning direction of the gun is gradually orientated into parallelism .with said" ramming direction vduringv movement throughk said passageway.

4. In a belt-fed elevating gun as set forth in claim l, wherein the end of said trunnion adjacent the stationary magazine includes a pair of diametrically oppositely ar ranged blocks each having a pair of angularly related surfaces, adjacent surfaces of said vblocks deiiniug a pair oi?` diametrically' disposed, oppositely extendingl grooves through` said trunnion in alignment with the opposite ends of said oblong opening, and the` angle defined by said surfaces of each block increasing inwardly from said f endto 180 to dene each; of the` lateral'` sides of said oblongV opening attsaid one end of said trunnion.

5. In a belt-fed elevating gunl as set forth in claim 4,

wherein said sides of each said block and said endl of" v said trunnion adjacentto the stationary magazine define v ing a longitudinal axisr extending parallel to the ramming y an angle of substantially 90,

References Cited inthe die of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS f 2,300,602 Trotter et ai. Nov; 3, 1942 2,936,677 Vickers May 17, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS t 1,153,602y France oct; 14, 1957 

